History of Creationism

The history of creationism relates to the history of thought based on the premise that the natural universe had a beginning, and came into being supernaturally. The term creationism in its broad sense covers a wide range of views and interpretations, and was not in common use before the late 19th century. Throughout recorded history, many people have viewed the universe as a created entity. Many ancient historical accounts from around the world refer to or imply a creation of the earth and universe.

Although specific historical understandings of creationism have used varying degrees of empirical, spiritual and/or philosophical investigations, they are all based on the view that the universe was created. The most influential force on the history of creationism has been the Genesis creation narrative, which was accepted as a historical account until the advent of modern science. It has provided a basic framework for Jewish, Christian and Islamic epistemological understandings of how the universe came into being - through the divine intervention of God, Yahweh or Allah. Historically, literal interpretations of this narrative have been more dominant than allegorical interpretations of Genesis.